Sunday, April 12, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Chroniá Pollá! - Easter Wishes
This will be the first year since 1984 that I havent spent my Easter weekend in Cyprus and to be honest I think I am going to miss the Orthodox Easter celebrations and activities, I am of course just so happy to be with Chester here in North Carolina USA as we have always just wished us together anyway wherever we are and thats the main thing , but Easter is just a very special celebrated event there in Cyprus and there are some very nice events and foods to be enjoyed so for sure I am wishing us both back there to participate.
well let me tell those of you who are not familiar a little about ' Pasxa '( Easter ) as its called there in Cyprus ! :
The holiday is usually never falling the same time as the Western world as different calendars are used to determine the dates Greeks using the Julian calendar and the western world uses the Gregorian one ,anyhow in Cyprus this year it will fall on 17th 18th and 19th of April
Starting with the Good or Great Friday all government building fly the flags at half mast to mark the mournful day and each individual church around Cyprus starts early in the morning to make an Epitaphios of Christ, this involves decorating a kind of wooden frame with fresh flowers , its kind of a little competition I think to see who makes the best one and over the years I have seen some very attractive ones and its always a hard decision to say which is the best ,here is a photo of one I took the last year before I left Limassol.
This Epitaphios when done is kept in the church until evening when they hold the service and then carry it out into the streets in a procession to be viewed by all the people .
Decorating the Epitaphios
Next is the Easter Saturday , apart form the families preparing the various easter specialities to eat , things like 'soureki ' ' and 'Flaunas' which are types of breads , eggs are coloured and after that the families are wanting to get their best clothes and get dressed ready to go to the churches to be there for 11pm they take along various styles of candles ( Lampada) ready to be lit at midnight when the bells toll to announce that Christ is risen , and the echos of the words 'Christos Anesti ' can be heard everywhere as everyone greets eaqch othere with the message , the response to this greeting is ' Alithinos Anesti ' which means the true lord is indeed risen. Fireworks are set off and huge bonfires are lit and the atmosphere is indeed joyful.
After the families get home , tradition calls for everyone to enjoy home made soup made usually only at easter ( Magiritsa ) its a kind of creamy ,lemony soup made from lamb sweetmeats ,and also some of the breads I have mentioned , and also the classic Ouzo or red wine is there to add to the enjoyment and contribute to the merriment !! usually this celebration is going on until early hours of the Sunday morning.
The big Sunday of course is again spent in rejoicing with family and friends and the grills and spits are turning all over the island barbecuing the Lamb/kid Souvla pieces which the Cypriots love to eat, along with a hundred other dishes and goodies , hotels on the Island have very reasonable offers for the local who want to travel to another part of the island to spend the weekend , I had the pleasure last year to stay at the Sunrise Beach Hotel ,my friend was visiting from UK so we headed of to the town of Protaras and had a wonderful time, she loved the traditional Greek dancers who entertained us with their show at the Sunday Lunch .
This year will be special just the same even though Chester will be working all of the weekend and instead of going to visit the Epitaphios at the church we are heading off to the Immigration offices in Norfolk to have my biometric finger prints taken to proceed with the process of me getting permanent resindency , not so exciting but a must all the same , maybe we will manage to still bring some of the traditions of Cyprus to the house here in Grandy and I can download some Greek music and Chester can don his white thermals and his huge homer simpson slimppers and dance a zorbas or something around the back yard whilst he cooks some American style burgers ...ha ha ha ha ha
Best wishes everyone for the coming weekend , and lets keep the real reason for Easter in our hearts and be thankful for Christs ultimate scrifice of his son who died on the cross but rose again,
Kalo Pascha from both of us .
well let me tell those of you who are not familiar a little about ' Pasxa '( Easter ) as its called there in Cyprus ! :
The holiday is usually never falling the same time as the Western world as different calendars are used to determine the dates Greeks using the Julian calendar and the western world uses the Gregorian one ,anyhow in Cyprus this year it will fall on 17th 18th and 19th of April
Starting with the Good or Great Friday all government building fly the flags at half mast to mark the mournful day and each individual church around Cyprus starts early in the morning to make an Epitaphios of Christ, this involves decorating a kind of wooden frame with fresh flowers , its kind of a little competition I think to see who makes the best one and over the years I have seen some very attractive ones and its always a hard decision to say which is the best ,here is a photo of one I took the last year before I left Limassol.
This Epitaphios when done is kept in the church until evening when they hold the service and then carry it out into the streets in a procession to be viewed by all the people .
Decorating the Epitaphios
Next is the Easter Saturday , apart form the families preparing the various easter specialities to eat , things like 'soureki ' ' and 'Flaunas' which are types of breads , eggs are coloured and after that the families are wanting to get their best clothes and get dressed ready to go to the churches to be there for 11pm they take along various styles of candles ( Lampada) ready to be lit at midnight when the bells toll to announce that Christ is risen , and the echos of the words 'Christos Anesti ' can be heard everywhere as everyone greets eaqch othere with the message , the response to this greeting is ' Alithinos Anesti ' which means the true lord is indeed risen. Fireworks are set off and huge bonfires are lit and the atmosphere is indeed joyful.
After the families get home , tradition calls for everyone to enjoy home made soup made usually only at easter ( Magiritsa ) its a kind of creamy ,lemony soup made from lamb sweetmeats ,and also some of the breads I have mentioned , and also the classic Ouzo or red wine is there to add to the enjoyment and contribute to the merriment !! usually this celebration is going on until early hours of the Sunday morning.
The big Sunday of course is again spent in rejoicing with family and friends and the grills and spits are turning all over the island barbecuing the Lamb/kid Souvla pieces which the Cypriots love to eat, along with a hundred other dishes and goodies , hotels on the Island have very reasonable offers for the local who want to travel to another part of the island to spend the weekend , I had the pleasure last year to stay at the Sunrise Beach Hotel ,my friend was visiting from UK so we headed of to the town of Protaras and had a wonderful time, she loved the traditional Greek dancers who entertained us with their show at the Sunday Lunch .
This year will be special just the same even though Chester will be working all of the weekend and instead of going to visit the Epitaphios at the church we are heading off to the Immigration offices in Norfolk to have my biometric finger prints taken to proceed with the process of me getting permanent resindency , not so exciting but a must all the same , maybe we will manage to still bring some of the traditions of Cyprus to the house here in Grandy and I can download some Greek music and Chester can don his white thermals and his huge homer simpson slimppers and dance a zorbas or something around the back yard whilst he cooks some American style burgers ...ha ha ha ha ha
Best wishes everyone for the coming weekend , and lets keep the real reason for Easter in our hearts and be thankful for Christs ultimate scrifice of his son who died on the cross but rose again,
Kalo Pascha from both of us .
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Corny old jokes ...that made me laugh ( :
1. How Do You Catch a Unique Rabbit?
Unique Up On It.
2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?
Tame Way, Unique Up On It.
3. How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest?
They Take The Psycho Path
4. How Do You Get Holy Water?
You Boil The Hell Out Of It.
5. What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall?
Dam!
6. What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long?
Polaroids
7. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A Stick
8. What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours?
Nacho Cheese.
9. What Do You Call Santa's Helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.
10. What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand?
Quattro Sinko..
11. What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow?
Spoiled Milk.
12. What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire?
Frostbite.
13. What Lies At The Bottom Of The Ocean And Twitches?
A Nervous Wreck.
14. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
Anyone Can Roast Beef.
15. Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs?
Right Where You Left Him.
16. Why Do Gorillas Have Big Nostrils?
Because They Have Big Fingers.
17. Why Don't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because It Scares The Dog.
18. What Kind Of Coffee Was Served On The Titanic?
Sanka.
19. What Is The Difference Between a Harley And a Hoover
?
The Location Of The Dirt Bag.
20. Why Did Pilgrims' Pants Always Fall Down?
Because They Wore Their Belt Buckle On Their Hat.
21. What's The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a Bad
Skydiver?
A Bad Golfer Goes, Whack, Dang!
A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack.
22. How Are a Texas Tornado And a Tennessee Divorce The
Same?
Somebody's Gonna Lose A Trailer
Unique Up On It.
2. How Do You Catch a Tame Rabbit?
Tame Way, Unique Up On It.
3. How Do Crazy People Go Through The Forest?
They Take The Psycho Path
4. How Do You Get Holy Water?
You Boil The Hell Out Of It.
5. What Do Fish Say When They Hit a Concrete Wall?
Dam!
6. What Do Eskimos Get From Sitting On The Ice too Long?
Polaroids
7. What Do You Call a Boomerang That Doesn't work?
A Stick
8. What Do You Call Cheese That Isn't Yours?
Nacho Cheese.
9. What Do You Call Santa's Helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.
10. What Do You Call Four Bullfighters In Quicksand?
Quattro Sinko..
11. What Do You Get From a Pampered Cow?
Spoiled Milk.
12. What Do You Get When You Cross a Snowman With a Vampire?
Frostbite.
13. What Lies At The Bottom Of The Ocean And Twitches?
A Nervous Wreck.
14. What's The Difference Between Roast Beef And Pea Soup?
Anyone Can Roast Beef.
15. Where Do You Find a Dog With No Legs?
Right Where You Left Him.
16. Why Do Gorillas Have Big Nostrils?
Because They Have Big Fingers.
17. Why Don't Blind People Like To Sky Dive?
Because It Scares The Dog.
18. What Kind Of Coffee Was Served On The Titanic?
Sanka.
19. What Is The Difference Between a Harley And a Hoover
?
The Location Of The Dirt Bag.
20. Why Did Pilgrims' Pants Always Fall Down?
Because They Wore Their Belt Buckle On Their Hat.
21. What's The Difference Between a Bad Golfer And a Bad
Skydiver?
A Bad Golfer Goes, Whack, Dang!
A Bad Skydiver Goes Dang! Whack.
22. How Are a Texas Tornado And a Tennessee Divorce The
Same?
Somebody's Gonna Lose A Trailer
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Tradgedy
I know it happens many times over that people make thoughtless silly mistakes in life that can and have ended in tradgedy , but somehow I got so upset when I heard this Sherrif Bob Bratton take on such a mean attitude when discussing the loss of life because of the fishermen not heeding warnings and advice issued to them beforehand , the first words he uttered were about money, yes he did say he was sorry about the deaths ,he just didn't sound it ,I am sure the families of the poor guys who lost their lives feel so bad without having to hear one mans unfeeling comments about their loved ones acting so irresponsible being broadcast like that , there is a time and place for everything to be said and in my opinion he should have shut his mouth in this instance .
My heart goes out to all the families involved with the loss , we all make mistakes and unfortunately those fishermen made one that cost them thier lives.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Countdown
Just to update everyone,
Chester and I are going to have the first of our two planned wedding ceremonies, the first one being a very romantic private service with only two witnesses attending , we have to have this service to oblige the immigration visa rules , but still we want it to be very special and it will be of course , saying I do to the man I have loved and adored since we met on Christian Mingle Singles site 3 years back , who would have thought 2 people could fall in love without ever meeting face to face .....We did and its felt so perfect since day one.
The second ceremony we plan to hold around end of May or beginning of June , its not easy as we really would love to give the chance everyone including my relatives and friends to attend, not an easy task being across the other end of the Ocean ,but hopefully things will work out , having kids studying in different places and doing different things is one of the things to consider , and its a big expense nowdays to fly across the sky, oh to win the lottery and pay everyones tickets !
It really is feeling very exciting to me now , I feel like a young teenager again , I am so in love and so ready to become Mrs Weikel ( :
this Valentines day is going to be Very Special and I cant wait.
As soon as we have the second date confirmed we will inform everyone so be ready and watch this spot.....
luv ya my Cowboy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
